Organization and OCD

Organization is key. Well... in my OCD ridden life it most certainly HAS to be the key. Despite my color coded binders and papers at 90 degree angles on my desk, there are real benefits to being an organized individual. Take a look at my calendar.

This is something I am extremely proud of, it keeps me on track and ready for each day. I try to map out exactly what I want to do within the 17-18 hour period that I am awake. I mostly only have my classes on this calendar and arrogantly enough, classes come second in my life. Something I have found is that what you do outside of the classroom is far more important than what you do inside of the classroom in college, subjectively. As organized as I am, I have skipped a couple of classes so far (mostly because they are lectures that are also on Zoom), and I have taken a mental health day.

That mental health day was last Monday. I woke up and felt emotionally drained, I wasn't even sick, I just felt not entirely mentally stable. So guess what, I am email my professor and tell him that I am not going to make class because I needed to. We all need a day here and there to just spend time with ourselves and prioritize mental health. It was one of my favorite days on campus so far because I just spend time on my writing and was able to take advantage of my solitude.

Anyways, back to organization. Organization results in more productivity. Say you have from 7:00am-8:00am to finish a short paper and get ready for your class at 8:30. You leave your laptop in the same place every night, all you have to do it get out of bed and open it up, if you are organized- your paper will be the first thing you see, saving 1-2 minutes searching for it instead. If you pick out your clothes the night before, that is guaranteed to save your 5 minutes in the morning. It's all about finding things to do that will help you save time, it all adds up at the end of the day.

Most of all, coming home to a made bed, clean desk, and folded clothes after a long day feels a lot better than coming home to a messy unorganized room. I can not stress how important it is to make your bed, every single morning I have done so for the past 2 years. Starting off your day by doing this gives you the strength to go about and do the rest of the tasks that don't appeal to you as much throughout the rest of the day. If you don't make your bed, grow up, your mom isn't here to make it anymore.

I am militaristic, I do have a slight anxiety attack if someone comes in my room and messes with my organization. I mean, it's not that fun because my temper can take over but that's just something I have to work on. The thing with OCD is that it does have its upsides like being organized and prepared for the day but the disadvantages are also evident.

So moral of the story, be organized, you will feel much better about yourself if you are.